Wash pit cleaner



July l0, 1956 J. McKNlGHT 2,753,877

WASH PIT CLEANER wmf/L VIV/(MM INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY' July w, E55 J. MCKNIGHT 2,753,877

WASH PIT CLEANER Filed Got. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 am i 772W( INV NToR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent() WASH PIT CLEANER .lames L. McKnight, Houston, Tex.

Application October 19, 1953, Serial No. 386,996

8 Claims. (Cl. 134-168) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a wash pit cleaner.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for cleaning wash pits, such as are commonly employed at lling stations, garages and the like, and which often accumulate sand and mud from car washing operations.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wash pit cleaner that will pump water into a wash pit, agitate the water so pumped in, to cause a suspension of the sand to be removed, and then removing the water and sand into the container for the purpose of transporting same from the premises.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a receptacle for the material taken from wash pits that will permit easy discharge of said material from the receptacle.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wash pit cleaner that will be powered, and carried by a motor vehicle, and that will remove the contents of a wash pit, store same and discharge same from storage in a novel manner.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention has relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts more particularly set forth in the following specifications and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the device.

Figure 2 is a side plan view, in cross section.

Figure 3 is an end view, partially in cross section, taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the novel door lock employed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a truck having the conventional driving shaft 2. A rectangular tank 3 is mounted on the truck body and pivotal doors 4, 4 are secured to the sides of the tank 3. The doors 4, 4 are reinforced as by the angle irons 5, 5 and a bottom overlapping seal 6. The ends of the seal 6 are notched as at 7 to receive the eyebolts 8 which ride on and are supported by the axles 9. The oor panels 1t), 10 of the receptacle 3 are peaked forming downwardly and outwardly extending sections as illustrated in Figure 3. Beneath the oor panels tl, 10 is a storage tank intended for fresh water.

Mounted at one end of the tank 3 is a standard pump 11, having the conventional inlet and outlet ports. A pipe 12 is mounted beneath the tank 10 and extends from the valve 13 at one end of the tank 3 to the other end of the tank 3 into the intake of said pump 11 and a pipe 14 extends from the outlet of said pump 11 through the valve 15 and into a port 16 in the top of the tank 3. A line 17, having the valve 1S mounted therein, extends from the tank 10 into the line 19. The line 19 extends from the line 12 into the port 16 in the tank 3 and has a valve 2) adjacent its free end, and has a exible hose as 21 mounted on the free end thereof. A line 22 extends from the line 14 through the tank 10, to the valve 23 and has the hose 24 connected thereto at its free end. A flexible hose, as 25, is connected to the line 12 adjacent the valve 13.

2,753,877 Patented July 10, 1956 ICC Suitable latches, as 26, are mounted on the control bar 27 and engage the ngers 28 which depend from the plate 6. The control bar 27 may be manually manipulated to disengage the latches 26 from the fingers 28 to permit the door 4 to pivot.

Power may be transmitted to the pump 11 from the drive shaft 2 of the vehicle, through the take-off 29, which may be of chain or belt design. The power for' rotating the drive shaft, of course, will be derived from the motor of the vehicle.

In use the hose 25 is connected to the line 12 and its free end lowered into the wash pit to be cleaned and the hose 24 is connected to the line 23 and its free end lowered into the pit to be cleaned. The valves 15, 18 and 20 are closed and the valves 13, 23 are opened, and the pump started, agitatng the contents of the pit. When the uid in the pit 30 is sufficiently agitated to suspend the sand in the pit, loosening it from the bottom of the tank, or wash pit, the valve 23 is closed and the valve 15 opened, thus pumping the contents of the pit into the tank 3. If desired, fresh water from the tank 10 may be used to flush the pit by closing the valves 13, 15 and opening the valves 18 and 23. When it is desired to discharge the sand from the tank 3, the bars 27 are manipulated to release the doors 4 and the sand will move by gravity out of the tank 3. Ordinarily the nature of the sand from the wash pits cause it to pack quickly and tightly. However, due to the shape of the iloor panels lil, 10 of the tank 3, it readily slides out of the tank 3 when the doors 4 are open, and, if necessary, after it has been discharged, fresh water from the tank 10 may be pumped into the tank 3. Where it is desired to pump the contents of the tank 3, as in the case of discharging sand under a building, the valves 18, 15 and 13 are closed and valves 20, 23 opened, thus drawing the contents of the tank through the hose 21, line 19, 12 and 22 and through the hose 24.

A filter, such as the housing 30 is provided in the line 12, in which a screen as 31 is mounted of a mesh designed to block large pieces of foreign matter from entering the pump 11. A clean out plug 32 is mounted in the side of the filter 30 for gaining access to the inside of the housing 30 for removal of said large pieces of foreign matter.

While the foregoing is considered a preferred form of the invention, it is by way of illustration, and the broad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claims. i

What I claim is:

l. In a wash pit cleaner, a motor vehicle having a drive shaft and means for imparting power thereto, a tank on said vehicle having side and end walls and having a pair of downwardly and outwardly extended panels forming the Hoor of said tank, a water reservoir beneath said oor, a pair of pivotal doors on the side walls of said tank, a pump mounted on said vehicle and powered by said drive shaft and an inlet conduit having one end free and the other end terminating in said pump, and a discharge conduit leading from said pump into said tank and a water conduit connected into said inlet conduit at one end and into the reservoir at the other end and a water discharge conduit connected into said discharge conduit at one end and its other end being free and means for directing a ow of uid through said water discharge conduit into a wash pit to agitate the contents of the pit and through said inlet conduit to draw the contents of the pit into said tank.

2. In a wash pit cleaner, a motor vehicle having a drive shaft and means for imparting power thereto, a tank on said vehicle having side and end walls and having a pair of downwardly and outwardly extended panels forming the floor of said tank, a water reservoir beneath said oor,

a pair of pivotal doors on the side walls of said tank, a pump mounted on said vehicle and powered by said drive shaft and an inlet conduit having one end free and the other end connected to said pump and a discharge conduit connected at one end to said pump and the other end terminating in said tank and a Water conduit connected at one end into said inlet conduit and the other end into said reservoir and a water discharge conduit `connected at one end into said discharge conduit and the other end being free, valves in said conduits for selectively controlling the circulation of water from said reservoir and matter from said wash pit through said conduits.

3. In a pit cleaner, a vehicle, means for imparting power on said vehicle, circulating means on said vehicle, a tank mounted on said vehicle, conduits on said vehicle leading into and out of said tank and the Wash pit to be cleaned, one of said conduits being connected at one end into said circulating means and the other end being free, a discharge conduit leading from said circulating means into said tank, a water conduit connected at one end into a water supply and the other end being free, said circulating means causing circulation of water through said conduits, wash pit and tank, and for selectively depositing material collected by said water circulation in said tank, means for discharging matter from said tank comprising a pair of pivotal doors, manually operating locking means for releasably maintaining said doors in closed position, panels forming a oor in said tank, said panels being mounted in an inverted V-shape inside said tank, extending from a point midway of the sidewalls of said tank and adjacent the top thereof to the lower margin of the respective side walls thereof.

4. In a pit cleaner, a vehicle, means for imparting power mounted on said vehicle, a drive shaft driven by said power means, a mud tank and a fresh water tank on said vehicle, a pump on said vehicle adjacent said tanks, conduits on said vehicle and in operating connection with said tank and with said pump, one of said conduits being an inlet conduit connected at one end to said pump and the other end being free, a water conduit connected at one end to said water tank and the other end being free, exible hoses in connection with said conduits extending into a wash pit to be cleaned, means for selectively circulating water from said fresh water tank through said conduits and hoses and for receiving and discharging water and matter through said inlet conduit from said wash pit into said mud tank.

5. In a pit cleaner, a vehicle, a motor on said vehicle, a pump mounted on said vehicle and powered by said motor, a water reservoir on said vehicle and a mud tank on said vehicle having an inlet conduit having one end connected to said pump and the other end being free, a discharge conduit connected at one end to said pump, the other end terminating in said mud tank, a water conduit connected at one end to the water reservoir and the other end being free, said conduits having means for selective connection of the inlet conduit with said reservoir and mud tank and in operative connection with said pump,

and the pit to be cleaned, side doors on said tank pivotally connected thereto, said doors having means for releasably securing same in closed position comprising an elongated pivotal bar and a series of latches extending laterally from said bar and a series of latch receiving means on said doors adapted to be engaged by said latches and manual means for pivoting said bar.

6. In a wash pit cleaner, a wheeled body having a rectangular housing, a pair of longitudinal inwardly tapered partitions in said housing forming an inner mud tank and a uid reservoir, hinged longitudinal doors forming discharge ports on said housing, a pump on said body, a pair of hoses extending from said housing to a pit to be cleaned, a conduit system mounted on said body and connecting said pump, reservoir and tank, into which said hoses are connected, one of said conduits being an inlet conduit connected at one end to said pump and the other end being free, and a discharge conduit leading from said pump into said mud tank and a water conduit leading from said uid reservoir and terminating in a discharge nozzle, valves permitting control of ow through said conduits, said conduit system permitting a selective circuit of fluid from said reservoir and tank into said pit to be cleaned and for depositing said fluid in said tank.

7. In a pit cleaning device, a motor vehicle, a pump mounted on said vehicle in operative connection with the motor thereof, a covered tank on said vehicle having a partition and forming a mud compartment and a water compartment, the partition between said compartments being longitudinal of said tank and being downwardly and outwardly extended, pivotal doors permitting discharge from the mud compartment and the other compartment forming a water reservoir, means for selectively introducing water pressure from said reservoir into a pit to be cleaned and for moving the contents of said pit into said mud compartment to be selectively discharged through said doors.

8. In a wash pit cleaning unit, a vehicle having a source of power, an upstanding body mounted on said vehicle formed into a tank, downwardly sloping partitions in said tank forming a mud receptacle and a water reservoir, a pump mounted on said vehicle and powered by the said source of power; an inlet conduit on said vehicle having one end free and the other end connected into said pump, connecting conduits leading from said water reservoir into said inlet conduit and a discharge conduit leading from said pump into said mud receptacle, flexible conduits leading from the free end of said inlet conduit adapted to be extended into a wash pit to be cleaned and a series of control valves for selectively directing the circulation of fluid through said conduits.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 417,239 Dwight Dec. 17, 1889 1,437,007 Otterson Nov. 28, 1922 1,956,994 Parsons May l, 1934 2,222,516 Powell Nov. 19, 1940 2,596,151 Hudson May 13, 1952 

